Black Cat Bone

Album: The Progressive Blues Experiment (1969)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The "Black Cat Bone" is a blues totem. Black cats are considered a sign of bad luck in some cultures, but in the Hoodoo world adhered to by many African-American residents of the American South at the time, the bone of a black cat had special powers, typically allowing its holder to attain a special woman who resists his tangible charms. In this song, Winter is looking for the bone to solve his lady problems.
  • A Texas blues musician named Hop Wilson wrote a song called "My Woman Has A Black Cat Bone" sometime in the '50s; this tune has been covered by Albert Collins, Robert Cray and many other artists. Lightnin' Hopkins also had a song called "Black Cat Bone," and many famous bluesmen have incorporated the phrase into their lyrics: Muddy Waters did it in "Hoochie Coochie Man" ("I got a black cat bone and I got a mojo"), and Blind Lemon Jefferson in "Broke and Hungry" ("I believe my good gal have found my black cat bone"), and Bo Diddley in his eponymous song ("Mojo come to my house, ya black cat bone").

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

James Bond Theme Songs

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)Songwriter Interviews

"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."

Spooner Oldham

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."